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Once the training secret of the world’s best runners, interval training is now done by everyone, from competitive athletes to grandma next door. Emil Zatopek of the former Czechoslovakia, who won the 10K at the 1948 Olympics and 5K, 10K, and marathon at the 1952 Olympics, was the first athlete to popularize interval training. […]

When Swedish physiologist Dr. Per Olaf Åstrand discovered in the 1960s on a stationary bicycle in the laboratory that if you take a set amount of physical work and break that work up into periods of work and rest, you can accomplish more work at the same or higher intensity, the interval training that runners […]

I was having a conversation with someone tonight at the track after the San Diego Track Club workout, and she brought up strength training as a way to become a better runner. This is not the first time someone has tried to convince me that runners need to strength train. I have written and spoken […]

When I was a kid, I loved watching the TV sitcom, I Love Lucy. Lucille Ball was one in a million. There was a famous episode during which Lucy and her friend Ethel work at an assembly line, where they were assigned to wrap pieces of chocolate as they came down the conveyor belt. […]

A fraction of a second. That’s the time it takes to cause damage to our bodies. Whether a car accident, a cat scratch, or a surgeon’s incision, it takes less than one second to cause bodily damage. Weeks to months. That’s the time it takes to heal the damage. Whether a car accident, a cat […]

When I wrote The Inner Runner, one of the things I wanted to address is how running changes us on the inside. Exercise doesn’t just affect the heart and muscles; it also affects the brain. It’s an interesting field of science called neuroplasticity—the ability of the brain to change. Running causes morphological and neurochemical adaptations […]

Your running stride has two components: stride rate, which is the number of steps taken per minute, and stride length, which is the distance of each step. Running speed equals stride rate times stride length: Speed = Stride Rate x Stride Length Over time, as someone runs a lot, and spends time running at faster […]

A couple of weeks ago, I spoke at a track and cross country coaches clinic in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and met the current coach at the high school I graduated from in New Jersey. He gave me the school’s track/cross country racing singlet, and yesterday was the first chance I had to race in […]

I am often asked how to become a better runner. The answer is simple… and complex. As Albert Einstein said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” So, in honor of Einstein (whom I share a birthday with), here is a simple explanation of how to become a better runner. Understand […]

“There are two schools of thought,” the college coach said to me seven years ago, as I watched the 800-meter runners run 200-meter reps on the track at 800-meter PR pace in November. She was referring to how to train middle distance and distance runners — with lots of speed training or lots of endurance […]